Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the Centre is make all efforts to trace the 39 Indians held captive by terror group ISIS in Mosul since 2014.
"As Petroleum Minister, I know the intricacies of Iraq. The Central Government is trying its best to rescue Indian citizens. The government is very keen and is trying its best. The family should keep patience," Pradhan said.
"I was in Istanbul the day Mosul got free from the ISIS. There is a very challenging situation," he added.
Earlier in the day, the Iraq Embassy to India informed that search operations are underway to locate the 39 missing Indians, further assuring there is a high level coordination between concerned Iraqi and Indian authorities to locate them.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah had also defended External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and said that the search operation of 39 missing Indians in Iraq's Mosul was underway and the Centre was not misleading the nation.